Civic body keen on development in private colonies

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 18

The Municipal Corporation Bathinda has scheduled to hold a general house meeting on April 20, but ironically no new development work agenda has been included in the meeting. It has included again the agenda of taking over private colonies or conducting development works in the colonies built by private builders in the city.

In the meeting, 11 agenda of Rs 3.25 crore would be tabled in the meeting, which includes most of office works or six-month extension in the contract period of the sanitation workers in the city.

Even supplementary agenda kept in the last two meetings on March 12 and 14 for taking over and doing development works in colonies developed by private builders have been included in this agenda once again.

However, in previous meetings this agenda was opposed by the SAD-BJP combine as well as Congress councillors in the meeting. They had raised an issue claiming that when the MCB did not have money for development works in its wards, then why it is in a hurry to spend money on development works in colonies developed by private builders.

Even an inquiry related to taking over of colonies built by private builders by the MC is under way. Despite this, the MCB has included this agenda once again in the meeting. This also indicates MCB officials’ personal interest. The issue is likely to generate heat in the upcoming general house meeting.

This is also against the rules as any agenda which is kept pending in the general house meeting that agenda again can be tabled in the House after six months, but in this case without making any subcommittee the MCB has included the agenda again within 30 days.

Once again the hopes of the councillors pertaining to development works have dashed as they were expecting that development works of their wards would be listed in the agenda as in a pre-agenda meeting held on April 12, it was decided that councillors development works would be included in the agenda of the meeting this time.